Hot Tickets: San Francisco

31Jan

Every Tuesday at noon, PST, Brown Paper Tickets will post upcoming events happening in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here are hot tickets for events coming up. Check back for stellar events that fit the interests of locals and tourists alike.

Thursday, February 2 | CABARET by Kander and Ebb – A divinely decadent experience! Independent Cabaret Productions and Shakespeare at Stinson present this startling rendition of Tony-award-winning musical Cabaret, directed by Hector Correa. In the Young Performers Theatre at Fort Mason, the production will use an intimate space much like what Christopher Isherwood, author of the memoir upon which Cabaret was based, saw in pre-World-War-II Berlin. The audience won’t just be watching a show; they’ll be experiencing the dark, decadent world of Weimar Germany, a strange locale on the border of drama and burlesque, a place on the edge of civilization and of humanity itself. Our old friends Sally, Cliff, and the Emcee will all be there. Hopefully you will be too!

Friday, January 27 | Falsettoland – Fledgling Asian-American theatre company STIRFRY THEATRE is proud to present, as its San Francisco debut, a staged concert version of William Finn’s & James Lapine’s masterpiece, FALSETTOLAND, exploring the universal themes of love, loss, and family. This poignant and rarely performed one-act, about a family facing the specter of AIDS in the the early ’80s, was called “an achingly articulate musical” by The New York Times and a “burst of genius” by Time Magazine.

Saturday, February 4 | TEDxMendocino – These short talks include topics such as debunking what you think you may know about free trade, organic and non-GMO foods as told by John Scharffenberger himself, and the supposed importance of customer service in this economy. Other talks are related to art, theater, and television culture and the influence popular culture has on people as told by speakers from major cities (the exec producer of hit shows Glee and American Horror Story will be on hand) and also from our rural locale. The work of two celebrated young avante garde cellists who approach their work in very different ways will also be presented, as well as present curated talks from other TEDx events on various topics, including gratitude.

Saturday, February 4 | free2Bme – The title FREE2BME derives from the idea of freedom of individual expression through several genre forms: artistic designs and creative thinking; exploring colors, textures, shapes, styles, senses via visual and performing arts; thus showcasing our students talents and gifts through fashion, music and art! Making Waves Education Program and Tsunami Present this showcase of their students’ talents and gifts through fashion, music and art.

Saturday, February 4 | Croatian Animation Screening – The Croatian Animation Cultural Exchange presents an evening of historical animations from Croatia (1957-1978) with works by Nikola Kostelac, Vatroslav Mimica, Zlatko Grgic and more. The program is presented by Vanja Hraste who is a visiting program director of the film-club association of Croatia.

Sunday, February 5 | TransportedSF Day Trip to Playland Not-At-The-Beach – TransportedSF keep their ears to the ground for curios, oddities and out of the way places. They recently became aware of a strange attraction that has popped up in the East Bay. It’s a “museum of fun” that appears to be a tribute to carnivals and amusement parks from a bygone age. Deciding this needs further investigation, they planned a party out of the trip. They’ll close the day out with dancing to DJ Alxndr’s tunes outside on Treasure Island as the sun goes sets over San Francisco.

According to the Playland-Not-At-The-Beach web site: “Playland-Not-at-the-Beach is a temperature-controlled 9000-square foot building chock-full of amazing things to see and do. There are 30+ pinball machines set on Free Play, arcade games, videogames, carnival games of skills where you can win prizes, penny arcades full of antique amusement devices, live magic shows, an amazing hand-carved miniature circus, side show acts, miniature dioramas, Fascination games, and historic exhibits with artifacts from the Sutro Baths and Whitney’s Playland in San Francisco.” That should pique your interest!

Monday, February 6 | World Premiere of THE RIGHT TO LOVE: AN AMERICAN FAMILY – This will be the first public screening of this documentary, directed by multi-award winning documentarian and local Bay Area filmmaker, Cassie Jaye. The film follows Jay and Bryan Leffew, a legally married gay couple living in Santa Rosa, California, and their two adopted kids, Daniel and Selena. After Proposition 8 passed in 2008, the Leffew Family began posting their home videos on a YouTube channel called ‘Gay Family Values’ to show how normal and loving a gay family could be. As they pursue their American dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempt to strip it from them. Can a loving commitment last if everything surrounding them is trying to tear them apart?

Know of any other events happening in the Bay Area area this week? Post them in the comments section.